Flame producing mechanism



Jan. 11, 1938. v. ARoNsoN FLAME PRODUCING MECHANISM Filed May 23, 1934 "Ill/1111A fmww I- 40 mvENTon Louis I/Aronson/ l l a 1 Patented `Ian. 11, 1938 Nino STATES PATENT OFFICE 4 Claims.

My invention relates to flame-producing mechanism utilizable for any desired purpose such, for example, as for the ignition of cigarettes, cigars, pipes or the like.

My invention, in an important phase thereof, involves the use of a fuel-carrying member for actuating mechanism by which sparks are produced for the ignition of such fuel, said fuelcarrying member being normally associated with the housing for such mechanism.

Various other objects, advantages and characteristics of my invention will become apparent from the following detailed description.

My invention resides in the flame-producing mechanism, combinations and features of the character hereinafter described and claimed.

For an understanding of my invention and for an illustration of one of the many forms thereof, reference is to be had to the accompanying drawing, in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective View of flame-producing mechanism as constructed in accordance with my invention;

Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional View, partly in elevation, of a part of my novel mechanism;

Fig. 3 is a vertical sectional view, partly in elevation, of the mechanism shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a transverse, vertical sectional, view, partly in elevation, and is taken on the line 4-4 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is a horizontal sectional view, partly in plan, and is taken on the line V5 5 of Fig. 3 looking in the direction of the arrows;

Fig. 6 is a perspective View of a part of my novel mechanism;

Fig. 7 is a vertical sectional view of one form of my novel torch-forming member; and

Fig. 8 is a perspective view of a structure adapted to be disposed interiorly of the fuel casing.

Referring to the drawing, C represents a main casing which may be of oval or other suitable coneuration, such casing being formed from sheet metal or other suitable material. In accordance with a preferred form of the invention, the main casing C is open at the bottom so as to telescopically and detachably receive a fuel casing F. The main casing C is adapted, in suitable manner, as by the lugs I and screws 2, to have a cover plate P secured thereto.

In the form of the invention shown herein the cover plate P serves as a support for the various parts of mechanism which enter into and form the complete assembly. To this end, said cover plate P may serve as a support for a plurality (Cl. (S7- 4.1)

of depending bolts 3 which carry a horizontal frame plate 4, the latter being anchored on said bolts 3 by the thereby-carried spacing sleeves 5 and nuts 6. The frame plate d comprises a vertical section 4a which extends upwardly through 5 an opening 'I formed in the cover plate P.

`'I'he aforesaid vertical section 4a of the frame plate 4 comprises a pair of horizontally alined spaced bracket sections 4b forming alined passages which receive and slidably support a mem- 10 ber 8 having a vertical section 8a extending upwardly through the aforesaid opening l of the cover plate P, said section 8a, on the upper surface thereof, being provided with rack teeth.

The upper end of a lever 9 is connected by a 15 pin-and-slot connection I0 with the aforesaid member 8. The lower end of lever 9 has one end of a sleeve II anchored thereto, the other end of said sleeve I I being anchored to a second lever I2. As shown on the drawing, the sleeve II is 20 rotatably mounted on a xed pin or axle I3 which is horizontally anchored in the aforesaid vertical section 4a of the frame plate 4. A spring I4 is coiled around the sleeve II, one end Ida of this spring resting upon the frame plate 4, Fig. 3, 25 and the other end I4b of said spring I4 being secured in an opening formed in a projecting section I2a of the aforesaid lever I2. As shown, said last named lever I 2 is connected by a pin and slot connection I5 with the shank of a collar 30 I6 which is soldered or otherwise suitably secured to a sleeve I1 mounted for vertical, reciprocatory movement in alined passages formed, respectively, in the frame plate 4 and the cover plate P.

The frame plate d and the cover plate P are 35 provided, respectively with other alined passages Which slidably receive a member I8 biased in an upward direction bya suitable spring I9 which may be secured on a pin 20 projecting from the adjacent sleeve 5, the ends of said spring 40 engaging the member I8 and the frame plate 4, respectively. The member I8 is provided with a laterally extending section Ia which is adapted to coact with the notch end 8b of the aforesaid slidable member 8. As shown in Figs. l and 45 3, the upper end of the member I8 terminates above the frame plate P and carriesl a cap member 2| which may beformed with a suitable recess 2Ia, said cap member 2I being utilizable as hereinafter described.

The aforesaid member 8 is adapted to be moved from right to left and vice versa, Fig. 3, to thereby actuate suitable spark-producing mechanism.

In the form of the invention herein illustrated, although not necessarily, this spark-producing mechanism is of the pyrophoric type and is disposed above the cover plate P. As herein shown, such pyrophoric spark-producing mechanism comprises a wheel 22 having a serrated or roughened peripheral surface. Extending axially through this wheel 22 is a sleeve 23 rotatably mounted. on a pin or axle 24 horizontally anchored on the Vertical section lla. of the frame plate ll. A pinion 25 is formed integrally with the sleeve 23 and this pinion is disposed in meshing relation with respect to the rack teeth at the upper surface of the vertical section 8d of the member t. The side of the serrated wheel 22 removed from the pinion 25 is provided with rack teeth 22a with which coacts a ratchet disk 2t mounted on the adjacent end of the sleeve 23, said ratchet disk 25 being biased from right to left, Fig. Ll, by a coiled spring 21 which is disposed between said disk 26 and. a nut 28 threaded to the outer end of the pin 2d. The ratchet disk 26 is freely slidable axially on the projecting end of the sleeve 23 but is otherwise fixed thereto so as to be rotatable therewith.

Coactable with the serrated peripheral surface of the wheel 22 is a pyrophoric element 29, Fig. 3, which is supported in an elongated tube 30 extending downwardly throughr and anchored to the frame plate A suitable coil spring, not shown, is disposed in the tube Sii, this coil spring seating against the upper end of a headed screw Si. By virtue of this arrangement the pyrophoric element 2S is properly biased into engagement with the peripheral surface of the wheel 22.

As shown on the drawing, the spark-producing mechanism above described is disposed between the upper end of the sleeve ll and the upper end of the member i8. Such mechanism is so positionedand arranged that the sparks produced by clockwise rotatable movement of the wheel 22,

Fig. 3, pass along a diverging path which extends above the cap member 2|. Preferably, the spark-producing rmechanism is enclosed by a cap structure 32 which is secured to the cover plate P by screws 33. As shown, this cap structure 32 is provided with a passage 32a through which sparks are adapted to pass along the path above noted.

The above noted fuel casing F is of oval configuration, in correspondence with the `coniguration'of the main casing C within the lower end of which it is'slidably received. As shown, the fuel casing F comprises a lower flanged section il@ adapted to rest upon a suitable surface and thereby support the entire mechanism. As illustrated on the drawing, the fuel casing F is so formed as to define a sleeve-like passage il! through which the aforesaid tube Sil extends.

Frictionally secured to the upper surface of the fuel casing F is a cap i2 which is provided with a vertical passage 42a disposed in alinement with the vertical passage defined by the aforesaid sleeve il'. The cap i2 comprises a depending sleeve-like section 12b which enters the upper end of a vertical passage defined by a structure i3 formed from a strip of suitable material, such as felt which is spirally wound in the manner indicated in Fig. 8 and retained in such conguration by adhesive secured to the layers of the feltstrip. Preferably, a section lili of open mesh material such as may be fabricated from copper wire is disposed around the structure i3 to more rmly retain it in the shape indicated. Further, as shown in Fig. 3, the lower end of the passage defined by said structure 43 may be closed by a wad i5 of suitable absorbent material.

As illustrated in Fig. 3, the fuel casing F contains a mass of suitable absorbent material it such, for example, as cotton. Assuming that this absorbent material d6 together with the structure d3 are disposed in the casing F as shown, the cap 42 may then be secured to the top wall of said casing F with the sleeve section 4217 thereof depending into the upper part of the passage defined by the structure 43. In this manner, said structure 43 is held in the position shownin Fig. 3. A `In Fig. 3, I have shown as disposed in the sleeve il an elongated member 5@ formed with an upper handle section 59a. As illustrated in Fig. 7, the member 5i) is of tubular construction and has a stem 5l disposed therein, this stem carrying a detachable fabric sleeve 52 formed, for example, from cotton strands woven or knitted to form the fabric. The lower end of the stern 5i terminates in a head 53 having a reduced section 53a adapted to be inserted into and frictionally engage the lower interior surface of said member 5t. As clearly shown on the drawing, the lower end of the tubular member 5i) is cut away to form one or more passages 5th whereby the underlying section or sections of the fabric sleeve 52 are exposed. n

With the formof the invention herein illustrated, the fuel casing F may be removed from the main casing C when it becomes necessary to refuel said casing F, the fuel which is thus utilized being of any suitable type such, for example, as heretofore utilized for supplying pyrophoric lighters. With the present invention, it is desirable that a high testgasoline be utilized for fueling purposes and, accordingly, with the fuel casing F removed from the main casing as described above, a suitable quantity of such gasoline maybe introduced into said fuel casing by passing the same through the opening in the cap t2 thereof. This fuel is taken up by the felt structure 43 and the absorbent material dt.

With the various parts of the mechanism positioned as illustrated in Fig. 3, fuel fumes or liquid fuel as such passes from the absorbent material G6, through the open mesh section dd, and then through the felt structure d3, such fuel being then absorbed by the fabric sleeve 52. Due to the fact that the fabric sleeve 52 extends upwardly within the tubular member 553, it results that said fabric sleeve 52 takes up a quantity of fuel and, therefore, in a sense, acts as a fuel reservoir of restricted capacity.

In a sense, the tubular member 5i! serves as a stopper for the fuel casing F since a close fit exists between said tubular member 5d and the sleeve section 42h of the cap d2. This sealing action is enhanced, to some extent, by the felt structure 43 since the inner surface thereof should be somewhat smaller in diameter than that of the tubular member 5@ whereby said inner surface resiliently engages and grips the lower end of said tubular member 50.

When the herein described mechanism is to be operated, the handle section 5M is grasped by the ngers of one hand and lifted upwardly whereby the tubular member iis entirely removed from the sleeve il. rIhe head 53 at the lower end of the tubular member 5d is then disposed in the depression 2id of the cap member 2i. Downward pressure is then applied to said cap member 2i whereby the member i8 is moved downwardly to disengage the lateral section 58a thereof from the notched end 8b of the member 8. The spring lll is wound at this time and,

accordingly, in response to such disengagement of the parts noted above, the member 8 moves from right to left, Fig. 3, with a snapping action. As hereinbefore described, the member 8 is geared to the serrated wheel 22 through the member 8a, pinion 25, sleeve 23 and ratchet disk 26. Accordingly, the described snapping movement of the member 8 imparts a step rotation to the ratchet disk 2S in a clockwise. direction, Fig, 3. When moving in this direction, the ratchet disk 26 clutches the serrated wheel 22 and it results, therefore, that the described snapping action of the member 8 causes a quick impulse of rotative movement to be applied to the serrated wheel 22 in a clockwise direction, Fig. 3.

In response to such rotative movement of the serrated wheel 22, a shower of sparks are produced at the surface of the pyrophoric element 2S and these sparks are projected into engagement with those exposed parts of the fabric sleeve 52 which are at the lower end of the tubular member 59 as the latter rests upon the cap member 2l in the position shown in Fig. 1. The fuel charge carried by the exposed parts of said fabric sleeve 52 is thereby ignited, the tubular member 5t then becoming a torch, in effect. Said tubular member 5U may now be shifted to such position as may be desired to light a cigarette, pipe, candle or other object and it may be passed from hand to hand in so doing.

When the lighting operation has been completed, the tubular member 5B is reinserted in the sleeve l and, when thus reinserted, the name at the lower end thereof is extinguished. In response to continued downward movement of the tubular member 5G, the lower end thereof first enters the cap member 42 and then is seated in the vertical passage defined by the felt structure i3 to thereby seal the fuel casing F. After the lower end of the tubular member 5U has thus been reseated in the fuel casing F, fuel from such casing is absorbed or taken up by the fabric sleeve 52 to thereby replenish the supply of fuel which said fabric sleeve t2 is normally intended to contain.

After the tubular member 50 has been reinserted in the sleeve Il and before thel lower end thereof becomes entirely seated in the fuel casing F as described above, the lower surface of the handle sectionV 5M engages the upper end of the sleeve l?. When engagement between these parts has thus been effected and in response to continued downward application of pressure, it results that the sleeve I'! is moved downwardly and, in so moving, carries the collar i5 therewith. As a result, the levers l2 and 9 are rocked in a clockwise direction, Fig. 3, to wind the spring lli and shift the member 8 from left to right, Fig. 3, this movement of the memberV 8 continuing until the notched section 8b V thereof clears the lateral section 48a, of the memoer l2. When this happens, the member i8 movesV to its upper position under the control of the spring i9 to thereby disengageably latch the member 8 in the position shown in Fig. 3. During such movement of the member 8, the ratchet disk 2% idles with respect to the serrated wheel 22 which, accordingly, remains stationary.

After the operation described above has been completed, all of the parts of the mechanism are positioned as illustrated in Fig. 3 and such mechanism is in condition for subsequent operation in the manner hereinbefore described.

It is to be understood that the mechanism hereinbefore specifically described is merely illustrative of the many embodiments which the invention may take. Thus, for example, in lieu of the described spark-producing mechanism, it shall be understood that other equivalent arrangements for obtaining uni-directional movement of a serrated wheel may be utilized. Furthermore, it is to be understood that fuel may be supplied to the fuel casing Fin any convenient manner otherwise than as herein described. It shall also be understood that the sealing arrangement for the lower end of the torch member 5G may assume any one of a variety of forms in accordance with the broad purview of the invention.

While the invention has been described with respect to a certain particular preferred example which gives satisfactory results, it will be understood by those skilled in the art after understanding the invention, that various changes and modications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention and it is intended therefore in the appended claims to cover all such changes and modifications.

What is claimed as new and desired to be secured by Letters Patent is:

1. In combination, a casing, pyroplioric sparkproducing means, a horizontal member connected to said spark-producing means, said horizontal member being mounted for reciprocatory movement while remaining in a horizontal position, spring means for operating said reciprocatory member, means for storing energy in said spring means, a vertical member slidably disposed adjacent said reciprocatory member, and means forming a disengageable connection between said vertical and reciprocatory members, said energystoring means comprising a vertical member slidably disposed within said casing and said energystoring means further comprising a lever having one arm connected to said reciprocatory member and another arm connected to said second named vertical member.

2. In combination, a casing, pyrophoric sparkproducing means, a horizontal member connected to said spark-producing means, said horizontal member being mounted for reciprocatory movement while remaining in a horizontal position, spring means for operating said reciprocatory member, means comprising a vertical slidably disposed Vmember for storing energy in said spring means, a second vertical member slidably disposed adjacent said reciprocatory member, means forming a disengageable connection between said reciprocatory and said second named vertical member, a horizontal frame member disposed interiorly of said casing, said frame member forming bearings for said vertical members, and a fuel casing detachably disposed in said first named casing.

3. In combination, a casing, pyrophoric sparkproducing means, a horizontal member connected to said spark-producing means, said horizontal member being mounted for reciprocatory movement while remaining in a horizontal position, spring means for operating said reciprocatory member, means for storing energy in said spring means, a vertical member slidably disposed adjacent said reciprocatory member, and means forming a disengageable connection between said Vertical and reciprocatory members, said energystoring means comprising a vertical member slidably disposed within said casing and said energy-storing means further comprising a lever having one arm connected to said reciprocatory member and another arm connected to said second named vertical member, said reciprocatory member' and said lever being" the sole operating means between said vertical members.

4. In combination, a casing, pyrophoric sparkproducing means, a horizontal member connected to said spark-producing means, said horizontal member being mounted for reciprocatory movement While remaining in a horizontal position, spring means. for operating said reciprocatory member, a vertical sleeve slidable vertically in said casing, means' comprising a manually actu-J atable torch for operating said Vertical sleeve to store energy in said spring means, a second vertical member slidably disposed adjacent said reciprocatory member, and means forming a disengageable connection between said second vertical member and said reciprocatory member.

LOUIS V. ARQNSON. 

